ExCo team pays a visit to RS PRO’s state-of-the-art Lab

The RS PRO team recently welcomed our Chief Financial Officer, Kate Ringrose , and Chief People Officer,?Stephen Izquierdo, to the RS PRO Test & Design Lab in Corby, UK. The Lab is a brand new, state-of-the-art facility where our expert engineers test, audit and inspect the new products that we want to introduce to our RS PRO range.

During the visit, Kate and Steve had the chance to meet with team members and have a high-level overview of the Lab and its technical capabilities.

What is the RS PRO Lab?

The RS PRO Lab is a facility where RS PRO technicians and engineers can test products and components according to the latest material and element specifications. It is the place where products officially enter the RS PRO range and where engineering solutions are designed and put through their paces.

How’s it going?

The Lab came into being just over a year ago, and a few months later, it opened up to visits from employees, customers and suppliers. Lab visits have proved really popular!

Amrit Poonia , a Key Account Manager in the UK Team, commented: “I have brought many customers to visit the Lab to show them how it works and the quality standards that this new facility enables us to achieve. They loved it! Seeing with their own eyes the quality of our products, and how much passion we put into ensuring our products are the best they can be, has given them great confidence in our brand.”

It’s capturing lots of attention internally and externally: the Lab received compliments from BSI certification auditors, who issue our ISO certification, and the RS Creative Team chose it as the location for several photo shoots.

The RS PRO Team is continuing to invest in new testing equipment. The newest addition is a 5kN (kilonewton) tensile tester, the first of its kind in RS. The machine measures the breaking strength and maximum elongation of a product, subjecting each sample to controlled tension until failure. This versatile piece of equipment will allow us to test everything from safety shoes with protective toe caps to cable ties and electromagnets.?Andrew Shorley, Engineering Manager, said: “With this new equipment we can enhance the range of tests performed by RS PRO.”

See for yourself

If you’d like to book a visit to the RS PRO Lab, please reach out to the RS PRO team. We are also considering introducing virtual tours, so RS colleagues and customers from across the world can check out our exciting new Lab – even when not in Corby.